Hello, my lovely (few) readers heehee~~ I personally enjoyed writing this chapter because this is where everything really beings to unravel. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! I also changed where Tadase and Amu live. They live in a sort of mansion like place but it's not that big, it's around three floors. That's why Yuuki is able to move in and it sort of explains later events. Enjoy~~^^
I don't own Shugo Chara!
X
A trouser leg came into Ikuto's view, blocking Amu's face from him. The man leaned over and picked up the papers before sorting them neatly and setting them on Ikuto's lap.
"So you know her?" Ikuto stood up, face to face with Kazuomi.
"No. She's just a classmate." Kazuomi smiled slowly and patted his back.
"Alright. We'll find out soon enough."
Ikuto turned on his heels without a word and walked away, his footsteps echoing throughout the hall. His stride was confident and his head was high, but Kazuomi didn't miss the slight tremor in his hands as he glanced down at the papers once more.
X
Amu entered the house with a small smile on her face that didn't go unnoticed by Yuuki. She frowned slightly before walking outside to talk to someone. The night air was freezing. She would have to make the call quick.
"You have them right?...Good…Good…Send it to me by tomorrow morning. Amu won't be here anymore." Yuuki flipped her phone off with a brush of her hand. She pocketed her phone quickly and sauntered over to the kitchen, where Amu was humming while washing the dishes.
"Amu!" Amu turned around, her pale pink hair framing her face perfectly. Yuuki hated her for that. This low-classed beggar had stolen her son away from her with just a pretty face.
"Yes?" Amu paused her gentle scrubbing and smiled at Yuuki. The smile seemed spiteful and rude and Yuuki had to hold herself back from kicking her out the door right now. She would let Tadase have the honors of doing that.
"When are you leaving?" Yuuki glanced at the china plate Amu was holding in her hands. It was halfway above the sink, water dripping off of it. A sudden idea filled her mind and she quickly began putting it into action.
"Sorry?" her eyebrows knit together in confusion. Yuuki walked closer to her, forcing her to turn around fully to face her. Yuuki held back a smile when she saw the plate hanging in mid air, supported by nothing but a pair of delicate hands.
"You filthy bitch, you don't deserve my son. Leave! You stole him from me and now you're dirtying him with your lowliness! I am absolutely revolted by you!"
Yuuki saw Amu's hand shake slightly and she congratulated herself before continuing her attack.
"What are you? Nothing! Just a beggar that got lucky and got taken in by my Tadase! How dare you turn him into someone who just picks up garbage off the street? You're nothing but a piece of chewed gum! You're a useless bitch!"
Amu's mouth fell open in shock and the plate crashed to the ground, shattering into small pieces. Why was Yuuki acting like this?
Yuuki screamed in horror and stumbled backwards and fell, somehow evading the pieces of porcelain on the floor.
"I-I-I'm so sorry! I-" Yuuki screamed even louder as she noticed the small cuts on her feet.
Tadase burst through the door, eyes widening when he saw the broken plate and his hysterical mother.
"W-what happened?"
"I-I dropped the plate! I was just clumsy! I'm sorry!"
"No, it's okay. Let me just check mother out. Can you start cleaning the glass?" Tadase didn't wait for a response and quickly turned to his wailing mother. He began to inspect her feet and dabbed at it with a clean napkin lying on the table.
Amu turned to the mess and grabbed a broom and pan and swept all the pieces carefully, scanning the floor for any small pieces. She vaguely remembered Tadase telling her that he would take Yuuki upstairs and sank down onto the chair as a tear escaped her eye.
Amu reached up to wipe a tear but winced and stared at her hands and feet. They were bleeding somewhat heavily and some shards of porcelain were still embedded in her skin. In her hurry, she had failed to notice her own wounds.
Amu grabbed a wet towel, tweezers, and gauze before limping over to the sofa and tending to her cuts. She removed each piece and gently patted it with the towel, cleaning it. Once she finished, she wrapped her feet and hands tightly in gauze.
She climbed up the stairs, exhausted, and trudged over to Yuuki's room in order to check in on her. Yuuki had two band-aids, one on each foot. It seemed that she had only two, small cuts. Amu sighed in relief before staggering out the door and into her room. She collapsed onto her bed and leaned back, being mindful of her injuries.
A light knock sounded on the door.
"Amu?"
"Come in." Tadase entered the room and shut the door carefully before setting himself down on her bed.
"Are you okay? Sorry I couldn't help you. Mom was just really hurt." Amu smiled gently.
"It's okay. You were right to protect Yuuki." Tadase broke into a grin and squashed her in a hug.
"I knew you would understand! Thanks!" Tadase kissed her on the forehead before bidding her goodnight and leaving the room. Amu pushed back the disappointment that he had failed to notice her injuries. But it wasn't his fault was it? She shrugged lightly and limped to the bathroom to get ready to sleep.
x
Amu jumped when a hand popped into view on her desk. She looked up, a little taken-aback when she saw blue eyes gazing down at her.
"We need to meet up tomorrow. Can you come to my place again at three?"
"Y-yeah." Ikuto nodded once and was beginning to walk away when he noticed her hands.
"Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. I just dropped something. Silly me." Amu laughed nervously but quieted down when Ikuto stared at her without responding. "W-what?"
"Just… be careful next time, okay?" He gently patted her on the back of her hands before beginning to walk away.
"I-Ikuto! You're a really nice guy!" Ikuto paused and turned around, raising an eyebrow.
He had been called numerous names before, but nice wasn't one of them.
"I-I mean it! You just seem cold, but your heart is really warm!" Ikuto chuckled at this and continued to walk away and Amu looked down at her hands.
Ikuto… who was he really? Amu quickly shook her heads and imagined Tadase.
Tadase was her lovely boyfriend.
x
When school was over, Amu rushed up the stairs and into her room to start her homework. She had so much homework and still had to write the first chapter of the group project short story. She quickly washed her face and changed before sitting down and pulling out her laptop.
Amu tried to think of the character. How would someone who was abused feel? She thought about her experience in her basement and shivered. It would help her to write this, but she didn't have any firsthand experience. Amu would just have to look it up.
She typed up a rough draft of the first chapter. In her opinion, it wasn't able to capture the raw emotions of the victims. Amu groaned in frustration but decided to print it out. She would have to ask Ikuto for his ideas.
"Amu?" Amu peered behind her chair to see neat blonde hair, not a strand out of place.
"Oh! Tadase!" Amu got out of her seat and threw her arms around his neck welcoming him home. He chuckled softly and gave her a small pat on the back.
"Glad to see you to. Mom is calling, looks like we'll have to go see her." Amu suppressed a sigh and followed Tadase out the door and to the front of Yuuki's door. Tadase gently knocked and a voice welcomed them in.
Yuuki was propped up against a few pillows, a thick blanket tucked underneath her elbows. Her brown hair was neatly pinned by her ear and she wore a pink nightgown.
"Sit down."
Tadase glanced over at Amu and raised an eyebrow but sat down nonetheless. Yuuki turned to them slightly and lifted her chin up.
"Tadase, I want you to break up with Amu." Tadase sighed and gripped Amu's hand tightly.
"Mom! We already went through this! I said I woul-"'
"Tadase! Listen to your mother. I would have let you guys meet but… I discovered something recently."
"What?"
"Amu. Go get my bag." Amu looked over at Tadase who smiled at her reassuringly and she stood up and grabbed the beige purse off the vanity and approached Yuuki nervously.
Yuuki stared at her for a while and smirked before snatching her bag away. Amu sat back down and glanced at Tadase. He didn't seem to have noticed the exchange between herself and Yuuki.
Yuuki pulled out a white handkerchief and sighed dramatically before leaning back into the pillows.
"I thought Amu was acting a little strange, so I asked someone to follow her for a while."
"Mom! Please!"
"Listen to me. Anyway, it turns out that she was seeing another man."
"What are you saying Mom? Do you honestly think I'd fall for that?"
Yuuki dug through her bag and pulled out an envelope and handed it to Tadase solemnly. Tadase opened it and pulled out a few photos. Amu watched as his shock was turned into tears.
Amu desperately racked her brain for ideas. She hadn't been seeing anyone. Who could Yuuki be talking about?
"A-Amu? Is this true?" His ruby red eyes were watering with tears. A look of hurt was on his face and Tadase handed over the photos and Amu scanned them quickly, nearly dropping them in shock.
There was a photo of her in Ikuto's arms in front of his house. Another one at a café. And then another one of him handing her a box with a necklace.
"I-I-"
"Tadase! She's been cheating on you! Aren't those photos enough for you? I couldn't bear for you to get hurt. This is why I'm doing this!" Yuuki dabbed her eyes with the handkerchief and sobbed loudly.
"N-no! Wait! This isn't wh-"
A sudden, brute slap to her face sent her reeling back in pain. Amu clutched her cheek and stared at Tadase in horror.
Tadase stood up slowly, his face red with fury. His distress had somehow changed to anger in an instant and Amu couldn't help but gape at him.
"How dare you… How dare you do this to me? After all that I've done for you? You little ungrateful bitch!"
Tadase threw a punch into her stomach and she stumbled backwards in pain and astonishment.
"Wait, Tadase, I don't think-" Yuuki began, her eyes widening slightly.
"No, Mom. I'm the one that saved her from death. And I'll be the one bringing her back." Yuuki gasped and could only watched as Tadase grabbed Amu's wrist and roughly dragged her out the door, slamming it shut.
She leaned back into her pillows and rubbed her temples soothingly.
Had she just created a monster?
X
Ikuto stopped by the hospital, three bowls of ramen in hand. He had promised Utau to meet Kukai there. Since Utau loved ramen, he decided it would be good to feed them both.
When he was in front of her hospital door, he heard a bright, airy laughter. The sound surprised him; Utau didn't laugh too much recently. Yet here she was, laughing on and on. A low voice said something and another peal of laughter rang through the air.
Ikuto knocked gently and the laughing stopped.
"Ikuto?" He opened the door and stepped in to see Utau's usual, white face replaced with a healthy peachy color.
Next to her was a boy around Utau's age with spiked, chocolate brown hair, his bright green eyes sparkling with joy. Ikuto didn't miss Utau's hand quickly slipping out of his.
The boy, probably Souma Kukai, stood up and proudly held a hand out to him.
"Hello! My name is Souma Kukai, and I am Utau's boyfr- OW!" Utau yanked him down and whispered into his ear furiously.
"It's okay Utau. I wouldn't be your older brother if I couldn't figure out that you were dating." She blushed a fiery red but smiled gratefully. "Anyway, I bought some ramen. Your favorite Utau!"
"Ooh! Is it salted miso pork ramen with extra broth and soup?" Kukai asked, his smile brightening. "That's my favorite too!" Ikuto raised an eyebrow but handed out the food.
"You know my sister well."
"Of course!"
And Kukai rambled on while Utau laughed in between his stories. Ikuto couldn't help but smile at the sight; at least one person was finding happiness. The journey was slow, but Ikuto knew that there would be joy soon.
X
A/N: Please, please, please review! Thanks to all who reviewed, and a special, special thanks to Nekoz Rule for welcoming me with open arms~~
18 reviews? Let's go!
Comments? Questions?
Review!